Internal heat
Encyclopedia
Internal heat is the heat
source from the interior of celestial objects, such as planet
s, brown dwarf
s, and star
s, caused by gravity, nuclear fusion
and decaying radioactive materials. The amount of internal heating depends on mass
; the more massive the object, the more internal heat it has. The internal heating keeps celestial objects warm and active.
The internal heat is the heat leftover from formation of celestial objects. The aging objects lose internal heat gradually except for stars.
s powers tectonic and volcanic activities. Earth
has the most internal heating because it is the most massive of the terrestrial planets. Mercury
and Mars
have no significant internal heating because they are only 5 and 11% the mass of Earth respectively; they are "geologically dead".
s have much greater internal heating than terrestrial planets. Jupiter
has the most internal heating with core temperature of 36,000 K. For the outer planets of our solar system
, internal heating powers the weather
and wind
instead of sunlight
that powers the weather for terrestrial planets. The internal heating within gas giant planets raise temperatures higher than effective temperature
s, as in the case of Jupiter, this makes 40 K warmer than given effective temperature. The internal heating within giant planets that orbit very close to their stars make planets puffier, or planets that were expanded
.
s have greater internal heating than gas giants but not as great as stars. The internal heating within brown dwarfs is great enough to sustain thermonuclear reaction of deuterium
to helium
. Like gas giants, brown dwarfs can have weather and wind powered by internal heating.
to helium
and can make heavier elements
. The Sun
for example has a core temperature of 13,600,000 K. The bluer, more massive, hotter, and older the stars are, the more internal heating it has. During the end of its lifecycle, the internal heating of a star increases dramatically, caused by contracting core, eventually becoming hot enough to fuse helium then carbon
or oxygen
.
Heat
In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
source from the interior of celestial objects, such as planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s, brown dwarf
Brown dwarf
Brown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth...
s, and star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s, caused by gravity, nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy...
and decaying radioactive materials. The amount of internal heating depends on mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
; the more massive the object, the more internal heat it has. The internal heating keeps celestial objects warm and active.
The internal heat is the heat leftover from formation of celestial objects. The aging objects lose internal heat gradually except for stars.
Terrestrial planets
The internal heating within terrestrial planetTerrestrial planet
A terrestrial planet, telluric planet or rocky planet is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals. Within the Solar System, the terrestrial planets are the inner planets closest to the Sun...
s powers tectonic and volcanic activities. Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
has the most internal heating because it is the most massive of the terrestrial planets. Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
and Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
have no significant internal heating because they are only 5 and 11% the mass of Earth respectively; they are "geologically dead".
Gas giants
The gas giantGas giant
A gas giant is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. There are four gas giants in the Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune...
s have much greater internal heating than terrestrial planets. Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
has the most internal heating with core temperature of 36,000 K. For the outer planets of our solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
, internal heating powers the weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
and wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
instead of sunlight
Sunlight
Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total frequency spectrum of electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is filtered through the Earth's atmosphere, and solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon.When the direct solar radiation is not blocked...
that powers the weather for terrestrial planets. The internal heating within gas giant planets raise temperatures higher than effective temperature
Effective temperature
The effective temperature of a body such as a star or planet is the temperature of a black body that would emit the same total amount of electromagnetic radiation...
s, as in the case of Jupiter, this makes 40 K warmer than given effective temperature. The internal heating within giant planets that orbit very close to their stars make planets puffier, or planets that were expanded
Thermal expansion
Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to change in volume in response to a change in temperature.When a substance is heated, its particles begin moving more and thus usually maintain a greater average separation. Materials which contract with increasing temperature are rare; this effect is...
.
Brown dwarfs
Brown dwarfBrown dwarf
Brown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth...
s have greater internal heating than gas giants but not as great as stars. The internal heating within brown dwarfs is great enough to sustain thermonuclear reaction of deuterium
Deuterium
Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen. It has a natural abundance in Earth's oceans of about one atom in of hydrogen . Deuterium accounts for approximately 0.0156% of all naturally occurring hydrogen in Earth's oceans, while the most common isotope ...
to helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
. Like gas giants, brown dwarfs can have weather and wind powered by internal heating.
Stars
The internal heating within stars are so great that they sustain thermonuclear reaction of hydrogenHydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
to helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
and can make heavier elements
Chemical element
A chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements...
. The Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
for example has a core temperature of 13,600,000 K. The bluer, more massive, hotter, and older the stars are, the more internal heating it has. During the end of its lifecycle, the internal heating of a star increases dramatically, caused by contracting core, eventually becoming hot enough to fuse helium then carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
or oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
.